The Inspector's Not on Vacation This Week!

When groups make small mistakes on their construction projects, such as making a cutout for an electrical box that is slightly off, Genaro likes to tell them that it's OK because the inspector is in Acapulco, or Cancun, or some other vacation destination. That was not, however, the case during Messiah Lutheran Church in Lakeville, MN's 2/6-2/13 servant event. Among other things, their project was to tear off the old roof of building #3 and put on a new one--and seeing as though the mission is within the El Paso city limits, we were required to undergo 2 inspections. We passed the tar paper inspection already, and I'm not sure when the finished product is going to be inspected but it hasn't happened as of this writing. I'm pretty sure it'll pass though; we have had 2 bouts of almost hurricane force winds and the roof still in one piece!

Aside from shingling, shingling, and more shingling, which was skillfully guided by handyman Tim, the rest of the group--Jan, a former salon owner, Kristen, a dental hygenist, and Cheryle, a Nikken wellness consultant--offered their slew of services--manicures, pedicures, dental workshops, and massages--in Sparks on Monday, at Sin Paredes on Wednesday, and right here on the mission's campus on Thursday evening. They also did some trash pick-up and painting later in the week since the roof HAD to be finished before the rain came! There are A LOT of pictures, so I'm going to let them do the rest of the talking. I took most of them, but I had to rely on the others for some since I never seemed to have my camera on hand for the most memorable moments!

Me, Kristen, and Jan after church at Sin Paredes on Sunday. Later on in the week "the three amigas" made one heck of a painting crew.

Eating REALLY hot guisado (a saucy mixture of meat, potatoes, and in this case, jalapenos!!!)...we were all glad each plate came with a big roll to help put out the fire in our mouths!

Quite possibly one of the best spots for a group picture.

Tim stayed back to work on the roof while the rest of us went to Sparks on Monday.

Demo!!!

The massage and dental stations...manicures and pedicures were off to the left but I couldn't capture all three in one picture.

On one hand I was a little bit disappointed with the slow pace of the day, but on the other hand it was a real blessing that we got to have meaningful conversations with EVERY single person whom we served. I got the job of showing off the family pictures that Jan had brought since her hands were sort of occupied.

Perla was first...she chose bright YELLOW!

Mayra, a 20 yr. old stay-at-home mom of a 6 mo. old baby boy, was one of only two people who opted for a pedicure.

Kristen and her new friend. This girl was going to school for early childhood education, and also spoke perfect English, so she stuck around all day to help interpret dental education workshops after she learned all the ins and outs by being Kristen's first "patient"

She brought certificates for all the kids who went through her workshop, as well as goodie bags.

Cheryle's rollout massage station.

Each person got to sit with their feet on the magnetized foot massager once they were finished with their back massage.

As soon as we got back from Sparks, it was roofing, roofing, roofing until it got so dark we could barely see the nails anymore!

Who is working and who is supervising???

Tim and Cheryle are actually Krysia's parents, so Krysia and Stephen (and Jaden) were around all week helping out. I think the sky in this picture of Tim and Krysia shingling is pretty awesome.

After the inspector came on Tuesday morning, we could continue with the next step. I'm not really sure how it happened, but somehow Kristen and I got the job of rolling ALL the tar...

Tuesday night, Chris and I went with the group to dinner at Andale. As usual, Chris told them it was someone's birthday even though it really wasn't, so they brought out the hats.

Tim and Cheryle.

Kristen and Jan.

Jan, la muchacha, and I.

"Chris, I found you a Mexican novia!"

Wednesday was a repeat of Monday, only at Sin Paredes, meaning there were a few more people. This little girl, Jessica, got the first manicure of the day.

Who knew manicures were a spectator sport?

Well, the day started off quietly anyhow!

I for one was glad that Kristen had brought her dental themed coloring sheets along!

Since I was interpreting, my hand was conveniently used for demonstrating how to floss properly. In Spanish, floss is literally "dental silk."

EVERYONE there got a goodie bag...there were even different ones for kids, teens, and adults.

When it was lunchtime, we got to help serve...with the biggest spoon I have ever seen!

Smiling faces and full bellies...

Cheryle's "quiet" massage room.

While we were in Mexico all day, anyone and everyone was helping finish the roof before the rain that was predicted for Wed. evening, which thankfully they did. That meant that we had to find new projects for Thursday. Kristen, Jan, and I painted the men's bathrooms in the church as well as the dorm! At one point, she was sitting on the can, painting out of a can--her words, not mine!

She volunteered to clean afterwards, even going so far as to scrape the floors. It looked great...until we put the second coat on!

Thursday night we all enjoyed a wonderful stuffed shell dinner together before setting up the spa and the dentist's office again for the San Pablo congregation.

The finished roof!

And a couple more good shots for the end of this blog... :)

Until next time, blessings!